North East Lincolnshire has up to 3,000 homes standing empty – one of the highest rates in the country.

The borough also saw a huge 32 per cent increase in the number of empty homes in the area between 2015 and 2016.

The revealing statistics, which have been published by the BBC, show hundreds of thousands of homes across the UK are unoccupied, despite widespread concern about a housing shortage. Of these, some 200,000 in England have been empty for six months or more, the official definition of “long-term” emptiness.

North East Lincolnshire was ranked ninth highest in a list of 360 councils in England for the number of empty homes in relation to population size.

The figures also show the rate of empty homes per square kilometre in 2016 was the highest for five years.

It comes as North East Lincolnshire Council (NELC) warned owners of empty homes that they will have to pay an extra 50 per cent on their council tax bills if they are left empty for more than two years.

Some empty properties, like this one in Hildyard Street in Grimsby, have been taken over by a private developer

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Councillor Peter Wheatley, portfolio holder for regeneration, skills and housing at NELC, said: “Empty homes can have unwanted detrimental effects on the community by attracting vandalism, fly-tipping, antisocial behaviour, squatters and an overall decline in the area.

“On top of this, they’re a complete waste when it doesn’t take much to bring them back into use as a fully functioning home.

“By addressing these problems, we can not only bring about immediate improvements, but also make sure that fewer homes are left empty in the future and improve standards in the local housing market.”

The issue of empty homes in Grimsby and the surrounding area is one which appears to be worsening.

According to the BBC study, there were 954 empty homes in North East Lincolnshire in 2011, and 961 in 2012.

The numbers dropped to 739 in 2013 before it jumped to 991 the following year.